OAKLAND, Calif. – Derek Carr put up the bigger numbers. Teddy Bridgewater walked away with the win.
In a battle between the two most accomplished quarterbacks from the 2014 draft class, Bridgewater threw for only 140 yards. But thanks to another big play on special teams, a second-half shutout from the defense and a game-sealing touchdown run from Adrian Peterson, the Vikings beat the Oakland Raiders 30-14 on Sunday at O.co Coliseum.
"Everybody had their piece of the pie today," cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said.
The victory was a microcosm of the five-game winning streak, that one that moved the Vikings into sole possession of first place in the NFC North heading into next Sunday's showdown at TCF Bank Stadium against the Green Bay Packers, losers of three straight.
Bridgewater, who bounced back from last week's concussion to start, averaged only 6.4 yards per throw against the league's worst-ranked pass defense. But with the Raiders surprisingly blanketing the Vikings receivers down the field, Bridgewater often had no good options as he scanned for open targets.
Bridgewater, for the most part, did a good job of avoiding trouble. He took four sacks and was hit three other times. But he didn't turn the ball over and would have had two touchdown passes if tight end Kyle Rudolph hadn't dropped a soft toss in the end zone.
Carr, meanwhile, completed 29 of 43 attempts for 302 yards, a sizable chunk of them coming in the fourth quarter as the Raiders tried to rally back. He threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter. But he also gave away two interceptions, including one in the end zone with the Raiders trailing late 23-14.
"We knew [Carr] had a live arm and could make every throw," Munnerlyn said. "I feel like he is one of the up-and-coming quarterbacks in the league."